Shloka 2
Abhimanyu-śravaṇa-prastāva and Cakravyūha-vinyāsa
Prelude to Abhimanyu’s Account and the Wheel-Formation Deployment
सर्वे विध्वस्तकवचास्तावका युधि निर्जिता: । रजस्वला भृशोद्विग्ना वीक्षमाणा दिशो दश,संजय कहते हैं--महाराज! जब अमित तेजस्वी अर्जुनने पहले ही हम सब लोगोंको भगा दिया, द्रोणाचार्यका संकल्प व्यर्थ हो गया तथा राजा युधिष्ठिर सर्वथा सुरक्षित रह गये, तब आपके समस्त सैनिक द्रोणाचार्यकी सम्मतिसे युद्ध बंद करके भयसे अत्यन्त उद्विग्न हो दसों दिशाओंकी ओर देखते हुए शिविरकी ओर चल दिये। वे सब-के-सब युद्धमें पराजित होकर धूलमें भर गये थे। उनके कवच छित्न-भिन्न हो गये थे तथा कभी न चूकनेवाले अर्जुनके बाणोंसे विदीर्ण होकर वे रणक्षेत्रमें अत्यन्त उपहासके पात्र बन गये
sañjaya uvāca | sarve vidhvastakavacās tāvakā yudhi nirjitāḥ | rajasvalā bhṛśodvignā vīkṣamāṇā diśo daśa ||
Sañjaya said: All your warriors, their armour shattered, were defeated in battle. Covered with dust and deeply shaken with fear, they kept looking in all ten directions—bewildered and seeking safety—after their rout on the field. The scene underscores how pride and force collapse before superior skill and resolve, and how fear spreads through an army once its confidence is broken.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the psychological truth of warfare: once an army’s protection and confidence are broken, fear multiplies and judgment falters. Ethically, it points to the fragility of pride and the swift reversal of fortune when discipline and leadership fail.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava troops have been defeated; their armour is smashed, they are covered in dust, and in panic they look in every direction for safety—signaling a rout and loss of cohesion on the battlefield.